What drives brand decisions in Québec

March 24, 2009

Hijacking

It's a concept that isn't discussed in marketing textbook
(at least not in the ones I've read) and it might mean different things to
those who have adopted the practice.

I'm talking about hijacking (seizing control of…) - as in
hijacking another brand's campaign.

I can think of three ways it's being done.

Spray-paint.

This one is usually the work of people who operate at night and
involves writing your message by distorting an existing advertising message –
usually a poster. This is otherwise known as vandalism and it’s illegal in most
cases.

Add an ad to an ad.

This is the clever addition of your advertising message onto
and existing brand campaign. I emphasize “clever” but I suspect it’s rarely
legal since you’re ambushing another brand’s campaign.

Two examples:

One from Germany for Hubba Bubba bubble gum.

One from Québec for apparel retailer Henri Vézina during a
provincial election.

Share a message. Share a campaign.

This involves some way of inserting your brand message in
another brand's campaign aimed at generating AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire
and Action).

For years, Country Harvest bread has emphasized the health
benefits of whole grains. It has done so by stressing the importance of grains
to promote heart health. The competitor, Bon Matin in Québec and Dempsters in
Ontario, has just introduced a new line called HealthyWay ProCardio that’s all
about heart health supported by a multi-media campaign.

So Country Harvest rides on the campaign by inserting itself
(we hope) just before Desire translates into Action with an outdoor campaign we
launched this week.

Brand attribution is often a challenge in
advertising. Only time will tell which brand will get attributed to the heart
health messages bombarding consumers right